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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26289610">braids</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/shanlyrical/pseuds/shanlyrical'>shanlyrical</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canonical Character Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Obi-Wan Kenobi Gets a Hug, Padawan Braids</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 07:56:05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>536</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26289610</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/shanlyrical/pseuds/shanlyrical</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Obi-Wan took another deep breath, opened his eyes, and met his own steady gaze in the mirror. Then, with a single, swift cut, he severed his own Padawan braid.</p><p>“Master Obi-Wan, what are you doing?”</p><p>It was Anakin. Obi-Wan had been so focused on his task that he’d failed to hear to the boy slip through the door behind him.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Obi-Wan Kenobi &amp; Anakin Skywalker</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>172</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>2020 Obi-Wan Kenobi Gen Exchange</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>braids</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/KCKenobi/gifts">KCKenobi</a>.</li>



    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Obi-Wan took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Ah, he’d waited so long for this. Yearned for it. Dreamt of it, in fact! <em>And yet.</em> And yet, when the time had finally come, he realized he couldn’t wait for it to be over and done with. He just wanted it finished.</p><p>They’d offered him the ceremony, of course. Yes, of course they had. Master Yoda would have stood in to do the honours, or Master Windu would have, or any other Jedi Master he might have requested. But truth was, Obi-Wan didn’t actually want anyone to stand in for Qui-Gon Jinn: Master Qui-Gon was irreplaceable, and Master Qui-Gon was <em>dead</em>.</p><p>And so he had elected to forego the traditional knighting ceremony. If Master Qui-Gon would not be the one to cut off Obi-Wan’s Padawan braid, then no Master would. Obi-Wan would cut off his Padawan braid himself.</p><p>He’d grown used to it over the years, the weight of it, the subtle tightness against his scalp, the feathered tip brushing against his bare skin. Now, though, it was time to move on. He would not miss it.</p><p>He would not cry for what – and for whom – he had lost. He <em>wouldn’t</em>.</p><p>Obi-Wan took another deep breath, opened his eyes, and met his own steady gaze in the mirror. Then, with a single, swift cut, he severed his own Padawan braid.</p><p>“Master Obi-Wan, what are you doing?”</p><p>It was Anakin. Obi-Wan had been so focused on his task that he’d failed to hear to the boy slip through the door behind him.</p><p>Obi-Wan turned away from the mirror and forced his facial muscles into some semblance of a smile. “Just a spot of personal grooming,” he said lightly. “Nothing that need concern you.”</p><p>Anakin stared at the severed braid hanging limply from Obi-Wan’s left fist. He stared at the pair of shears he still held in his other. His posture was tense; underneath the blond fringe his forehead was crinkled; and he was frowning. His exceptional strength in the Force meant that, even untrained, he could sense it when Obi-Wan was keeping something from him. Something that made him sad.</p><p>To his surprise, Anakin closed the distance between them and gave him a fierce hug. After a moment, Obi-Wan returned it, his heart in his throat.</p><p>“Why did you cut it off?” Anakin asked later as he rolled Obi-Wan’s severed braid back and forth between his fingers. “I thought it looked wizard.”</p><p>Obi-Wan tried imagining himself as Anakin saw him. Someone who was ‘wizard’…or <em>a</em> ‘wizard’? He liked the image, whichever it was, he decided. This time, when he smiled at Anakin, it was genuine. “The braid was a symbol of my apprenticeship, and I am an apprentice no longer. The past is past. It is only right to discard that which we no longer require.”</p><p>“I’m going to be an apprentice, right? Will I have a braid, too?” Anakin asked eagerly.</p><p>“Yes, absolutely, and it will continue growing throughout your apprenticeship,” Obi-Wan replied. Then he added, as much a promise to himself as to Anakin: “When your apprenticeship is completed and you’ve earned your knighthood, I promise I will cut your braid for you myself.”</p>
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